Online and brick-and-mortar retailers alike increasingly rely on insulated shipping containers to provide desired or required thermal environments when shipping goods, particularly perishable goods (e.g., refrigerated meals), thereby increasing the longevity of the goods and in turn the shipping area of the customer base. High quality insulated shipping containers can be critical to achieving commercial success, though they are often difficult and expensive to produce, ship, and return, and inconvenient and expensive to store. For example, although unassembled insulated shipping containers often require a small amount of space to store, they can be time-consuming, difficult, and expensive to assemble. Conversely, pre-assembled insulated shipping containers that are ready for use without adjustment are more convenient, but require increased storage space and expense on the front end. Additionally, while retailers may be equipped with skilled employees to prepare the insulated shipping containers for use, customers may find the time and expense even more burdensome. Further, environmentally conscious retailers and consumers are faced with limited environmentally friendly and responsible options for disposing insulated shipping containers following use.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved insulated shipping container and systems and methods for producing and using improved insulated shipping containers to address the above-mentioned limitations. Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to this and other considerations.